"Explore the rich tapestry of the Malabar region, where centuries of history, culture, and tradition come together.
University of Calicut,
Edapally - Panvel Hwy, Thenhipalam,
Kerala 673635, India
According to historians such as P. M. Jussay, the first Jews to reach Kerala were traders. They came around 2000 years ago, during the time of King Solomon. Others maintained that Jews arrived on the coast of Kerala in 68 AD to flee religious persecution in their homelands and established settlements in Cranganore, Palayar, Mala, and Pullut in present-day Kerala.
Cranganore, the present-day Kodungalloor of Thrissur district, was the first home of the Jewish settlers. According to traditions, a Hindu emperor issued a charter and granted privileges to Joseph Rabban, the leader of the Jewish community in Cranganore. These privileges were etched on copper plates, which are still in the possession of the Cochin Jews. The charter also gave the Jews the right to collect tolls, exempted them from paying taxes, and confirmed that they had been firmly established in the area. It was widely assumed that the Jews had their own kingdom in Cranganore, considering the large number of people who lived there. In 1341, the harbour of Cranganore lost its importance as a port due to a devastating flood, and the Jews eventually moved to Cochin. Furthermore, the Jewish community in northern Kerala was exterminated as a result of the Portuguese conquest of Cranganore in 1523.
It is also held that Calicut had an early Jewish settlement but there are no accounts of a Jewish community having existed there. The two great opponents of the Malabar Coast, the Raja of Cochin and the Zamorin of Calicut, each had a brigade of Jewish soldiers in their forces. In 1550, Portuguese and Cochin armies fought as allies against the Raja of Vatakkenkur.
This resulted in another wave of emigration to other parts of Malabar, which benefited the city of Cochin in particular.
In 1795, Malabar came under the control of the British, and the Jews enjoyed security. Most of them who were agriculturalists, warriors, and spice merchants in the past became professionals like attorneys, professors, engineers, teachers, physicians and clerks in the 20th century.
The arrival of Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions, as well as others from the Middle East, Persia, Yemen, and Germany grew Cochin’s Jewish community.
Those who migrated from these places were referred to as “Paradeshis” which meant foreigners in the Malayalam language. The Paradeshis adopted their native language and customs but built different synagogues and communities to maintain their identity.
Over time, the Paradeshi Jews became known as “white Jews” and the Malabar Jews as “black Jews.” The name ‘White Jews’ referred to those who were born of pure European blood, and “black Jews” referred to those European Jews who married the native population.
The Jewish community of Cochin remained a small minority, with less than 10% of this community in 1948.
With Israel’s creation in 1948, the Jewish population here began to decline.
Social Life and Culture
The social life of Jews including rituals, dietary and marriage laws was chiefly governed by the Jewish faith. In 1568, the Jewish immigrants who were called Paradeshis built a synagogue near the Maharaja’s palace in Cochin. Gradually, they began to use the Malayalam language and associated themselves with the customs and traditions of the natives of the region.
However, the social life of Cochin Jews was influenced by the caste system of Hindus. They stopped intermarrying with the black Jews who had been living there for centuries. They differed from each other in clothing styles as well.
White Jews wore long tunics of rich colours, waistcoats with 12 bright silver or gold buttons fastened with a fine silver or gold chain on top, and full white trousers. Normally, they wore skull caps, but when going to synagogue, they wore turbans. During festivals, they wore special dresses. Whereas, the Black Jews often dressed in a similar way to the native Muslims. Many of them wore shirts and skull caps like Jonaka Mappilas. Both men and women among them used coloured clothes.
However, they could be identified as Jews as they generally shave their heads or crop the hair bringing locks at the sides down in front of the ears. They also used wooden sandals. Although they spoke Malayalam at home, their religious language was Hebrew.
The Jewish community held control over the Ernakulam Market until they handed over its rights to the Kochi Municipality in 1935.
Contributions of the Jewish Community
In 1835, the Jews built an English school to teach English and Hebrew. In 1877, a Hebrew-Malayalam press was established. The significant contribution of Jews was the composition of folk songs in the Malayalam language. Apart from the Malayalam language, the songs used a mixture of Tamil and Hebrew words and some expressions unique to the Cochin Jews. The increased usage of Tamil words indicates that they were written in the sixteenth century or prior to that when Malayalam had a large amount of Tamil influence.
15 such handwritten songbooks with authentic Cochin Jewish compositions were collected from the homes of Kerala Jews in Cochin and Israel. About 300 of these songs have now been categorized into five categories: historical, bridal, invocational, biblical, and miscellaneous.
